This collection includes some of O. Henry's best stories, featurd here: 1) Strictly Business 2) The Gold that Glittered 3) Babes in the Jungle 4) The Day Restaurant 5) The Fifth Wheel 6) The Poet and the Peasant 7) The Robe of Peace 8) The Girl and the Graft 9) The Call of the Tame 10) The Unknown Quantity 11) The Thing's the Play 12) A Ramble in Aphasia 13) A Municipal Report 14) Psyche and the Pskyscraper 15) A Bird of Bagdad 16) Compliments of the Season 17) A Night in New Arabia 18) The Girl and the Habit 19) Proof of the Pudding 20) Past One at Rooney's 21) The Venturers 22) The Duel 23) "What You Want".
O. Henry was the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter (1862-1910). Porteras 400 short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, characterization and the clever use of twist endings. He travelled to Austin in 1884, where he took a number of different jobs over the next several years, first as pharmacist then as a draftsman, bank teller and journalist. He also began writing as a sideline to employment. Porteras most prolific writing period started in 1902, when he moved to New York City to be near his publishers. He wrote 381 short stories while living there. He wrote a story a week for over a year for the New York World Sunday Magazine. His wit, characterization and plot twists were adored by his readers, but often panned by the critics. Yet, he went on to gain international recognition and is credited with defining the short story as a literary art form.